Primary goal of Reconstruction: Civil rights. The nation will never be unified if a privileged minority is always working against another, and the nation will never be unified if civil liberties and safety are given to one group but not the other. To unify the “Free World”, all American people must be free. Our plan is to reunify the North and South but also rid the United States of white supremacy sooner and faster, thereby providing a place for people of color in society while protecting their civil rights and granting them equal opportunity.
What should be done to the ex-Confederates? 1. Jefferson Davis, Alexander Stephens, and Robert E. Lee should be prosecuted; these individuals are looked upon as a symbol of hope by irrational Confederates, therefore persecuting the persons being tried for treason would alert the South that rebellion and admiration of these generals will not be condoned.
2. No ex-Confederate that owned/sold slaves, fought against the Union in the Civil War, held position in the Confederate government, and/or has ever participated in/with the KKK or any other white supremacist/white power group may not hold government position in state or local court, judiciary system, or police force. This will prevent biased arrest, shooting, and trial.
What should be done for the freedmen?
1. Altering of 13th Amendment. The 13th Amendment Revised: Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude shall exist within the United States. The current 13th Amendment has a loophole. Slavery has been abolished in America except “as a punishment for a crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted”, so slavery is actually not abolished in America. This will prevent racist Southerners from arresting black people for minor crimes (ie. unemployment, loitering, or gambling) and selling them into legal slavery to private employers through the convict lease system. 2. The South will be taxed to fund the Freedmen's Bureau. The wealthy Southerners (plantation owners, "tidewater elite", First Families of Virginia type of people) will be taxed the heaviest. Former slave owners and slave sellers will be taxed the second heaviest. Middle to lower class Southerners will be taxed the least and it will be based on their monthly income. 3. An act similar to the Ku Klux Act will be passed in 1866, but it will apply to any Confederate/white power/white supremacist/black hate group that actively meets and commits hate acts against black people verbally and/or physically. Any person belonging to one of those groups will be fined and arrested, and leaders of these groups will be tried for federal hate crime and sentenced, if found guilty, to imprisonment.
What requirements must be met before Rebel states regain full rights and representation? And who should be able to vote and hold office in the new Southern state governments? To re-join the union, a paper necessitating details about reunification will be released to all states. This document will determine that in order to rejoin the United States, all states must follow new and previous indictments passed by congress. All states are required to recognize black people as free from servitude and give them equal opportunity in the workplace, along with the right to own property, bear arms, and the right to marry. States that seceded from the union must have 25 percent of the total population of white landowning males. States that do not meet these requirements will have banks, factories, as well as post offices inhabited by Federal troops. Once the 25% is achieved, troops will be removed.
Because the Southern population was drastically boosted after 4 million blacks were emancipated and granted citizenship, the number of seats for the Southern states in the House increased. This was an issue because that guaranteed more white supremacists a say in legislature, thus Southern racists had a lot of power and control in high government.
To eliminate that problem, any ex-Confederate that fought directly against the Union (fought in Confederate army), held position in the Confederate government, or owned/sold slaves may not be allowed to hold office in the new Southern state governments, and obviously not in the federal government, because these people had committed treason against the country (since the Southern states had never legally ceded from the U.S.) and because these people had committed federal offenses and federal hate crimes.
Educated freedmen should be granted the right to hold office and represent the South, as black people (as of 1860 https://www.bowdoin.edu/~prael/lesson/tables.htm) made up over one-third of the South’s population (34%) and all freedmen should be allowed to vote.
Any ex-Confederate that fought directly against the Union, held position in the Confederate government, or owned/sold slaves may not be allowed to vote for the same reason- because they committed acts of treason and terror against the U.S. government. This is constitutional because the 14th Amendment only states that “the right... to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude".
To prevent the issue of having racist ex-Confederates taking up the majority in the House: Have black representatives and Southern republican representatives in the house. The idea of preventing openly and actively racist ex-Confederates (ex-Confederates that didn’t directly fight against the Union, didn’t hold office in the Confederate govt, didn't own or sell slaves but are still loyal to the Confederacy and to a slave nation) the opportunity to hold a seat in Congress will be controversial in the North between radicals and moderates, as moderates will argue this is infringement on freedom of speech and denial of civil liberties to Southern white radicals. However, these people are white supremacists and they are a threat to the freedom of America. America is "the land of the free", and having such men in office who support white violence against black people, who support a country for white people and white people only, will ensure a corrupt government. Not allowing openly racist white supremacists a seat in Congress is not oppressive, it is protective- protective of the freedom of the nation and of the civil liberties of the freedmen. Declaration of Independence: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. It is the right of the people to alter/abolish a government that denies all persons their "unalienable rights... Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness" (civil liberties) and if there are political candidates and government officials pushing for slavery, denial of black citizenship, denial of black civil liberties, then that is a corrupt government that should not be continued and should be "alter[ed] or abolish[ed]". THUS ex-Confederates against emancipation/black citizenship and/or black civil libertiesshould NOT be allowed to hold office
How should the Southern economy be restored?
The south should repair and improve railroads for importing and exporting goods with a little help from the north. Internal improvements should be made as well as promoting the planting of crops besides cotton since cotton is ruinous to the soil and because those crop fields have been destroyed.
In addition, no person who had fought against the Union in the Civil War, held position in Confederate government, or owned or sold slaves may be able to have a job that allows them to determine their wage for their workers, i.e. farm/plantation manager. The reasoning is that actively racist ex-Confederates cannot be trusted to determine the wages or working conditions of their workers, for they cannot be trusted to treat black workers fairly, given their history with the Confederacy.
As well as that, serious investments will be made into affordable housing, in order to allow those who are homeless to focus on contributing to the economy. Federally funded houses should be available to homeless whites as well as the freedmen. In order to ensure black safety, these housing communities will be segregated, however, both will include equitable job opportunities and education. If education becomes free, the children will go to school and learn about equality, not continue legacies of white supremacy, and extend literacy to all Americans. If the majority of people in the South can focus on the economy instead of housing and starvation, the South will get back on it's feet significantly faster, thereby restoring the economy.
What role should Union troops play in policing, governing, or rebuilding the South?
The Union troops can assist the rebuilding of the infrastructure destroyed by the union such as the railroads, free labor and factories which should allow easier trading and manufacturing. The troops can also help in the training of local law enforcement and assist them during the regeneration process that is occurring in the South. The union troops should be assistants to the Freedmen's Bureaus in protecting black people living without weapons and assistance. Playing a part in enforcing anti-terrorist laws should be enforced upon troops as well. Soldiers will also be used to take over large plots of land from elite farmers. *if any freedmen are held illegally by farmers, it is the soldiers duty to withdraw them from the land and escort them to a settlement that is protected by the Union. In addition, the Union soldiers will protect the freedmen communities from terrorist groups, such as the KKK. Primary goal of reconstruction: Under the administration and protection of the Freedman’s Bureau, progressive changes should be made quickly with consistent help from the Union for freedmen among the south.
Civil rights. The nation will never be unified if a privileged minority is always working against another, and the nation will never be unified if civil liberties and safety are given to one group but not the other. To unify the “Free World”, all American people must be free. Our plan is to reunify the North and South but also rid the United States of white supremacy sooner and faster, thereby providing a place for people of color in society while protecting their civil rights and granting them equal opportunity.
What should be done to the ex-Confederates?
1. Jefferson Davis, Alexander Stephens, and Robert E. Lee should be prosecuted; these individuals are looked upon as a symbol of hope by irrational Confederates, therefore persecuting the persons being tried for treason would alert the South that rebellion and admiration of these generals will not be condoned.
2. No ex-Confederate that owned/sold slaves, fought against the Union in the Civil War, held position in the Confederate government, and/or has ever participated in/with the KKK or any other white supremacist/white power group may not hold government position in state or local court, judiciary system, or police force. This will prevent biased arrest, shooting, and trial.
What should be done for the freedmen?
1. Altering of 13th Amendment. The 13th Amendment Revised: Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude shall exist within the United States.
The current 13th Amendment has a loophole. Slavery has been abolished in America except “as a punishment for a crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted”, so slavery is actually not abolished in America. This will prevent racist Southerners from arresting black people for minor crimes (ie. unemployment, loitering, or gambling) and selling them into legal slavery to private employers through the convict lease system.
2. The South will be taxed to fund the Freedmen's Bureau. The wealthy Southerners (plantation owners, "tidewater elite", First Families of Virginia type of people) will be taxed the heaviest. Former slave owners and slave sellers will be taxed the second heaviest. Middle to lower class Southerners will be taxed the least and it will be based on their monthly income.
3. An act similar to the Ku Klux Act will be passed in 1866, but it will apply to any Confederate/white power/white supremacist/black hate group that actively meets and commits hate acts against black people verbally and/or physically. Any person belonging to one of those groups will be fined and arrested, and leaders of these groups will be tried for federal hate crime and sentenced, if found guilty, to imprisonment.
What requirements must be met before Rebel states regain full rights and representation? And who should be able to vote and hold office in the new Southern state governments?
To re-join the union, a paper necessitating details about reunification will be released to all states. This document will determine that in order to rejoin the United States, all states must follow new and previous indictments passed by congress. All states are required to recognize black people as free from servitude and give them equal opportunity in the workplace, along with the right to own property, bear arms, and the right to marry. States that seceded from the union must have 25 percent of the total population of white landowning males. States that do not meet these requirements will have banks, factories, as well as post offices inhabited by Federal troops. Once the 25% is achieved, troops will be removed.
Because the Southern population was drastically boosted after 4 million blacks were emancipated and granted citizenship, the number of seats for the Southern states in the House increased. This was an issue because that guaranteed more white supremacists a say in legislature, thus Southern racists had a lot of power and control in high government.
How should the Southern economy be restored?
In addition, no person who had fought against the Union in the Civil War, held position in Confederate government, or owned or sold slaves may be able to have a job that allows them to determine their wage for their workers, i.e. farm/plantation manager. The reasoning is that actively racist ex-Confederates cannot be trusted to determine the wages or working conditions of their workers, for they cannot be trusted to treat black workers fairly, given their history with the Confederacy.
- As well as that, serious investments will be made into affordable housing, in order to allow those who are homeless to focus on contributing to the economy. Federally funded houses should be available to homeless whites as well as the freedmen. In order to ensure black safety, these housing communities will be segregated, however, both will include equitable job opportunities and education. If education becomes free, the children will go to school and learn about equality, not continue legacies of white supremacy, and extend literacy to all Americans. If the majority of people in the South can focus on the economy instead of housing and starvation, the South will get back on it's feet significantly faster, thereby restoring the economy.
What role should Union troops play in policing, governing, or rebuilding the South?The Union troops can assist the rebuilding of the infrastructure destroyed by the union such as the railroads, free labor and factories which should allow easier trading and manufacturing. The troops can also help in the training of local law enforcement and assist them during the regeneration process that is occurring in the South. The union troops should be assistants to the Freedmen's Bureaus in protecting black people living without weapons and assistance. Playing a part in enforcing anti-terrorist laws should be enforced upon troops as well. Soldiers will also be used to take over large plots of land from elite farmers. *if any freedmen are held illegally by farmers, it is the soldiers duty to withdraw them from the land and escort them to a settlement that is protected by the Union. In addition, the Union soldiers will protect the freedmen communities from terrorist groups, such as the KKK.
Primary goal of reconstruction:
Under the administration and protection of the Freedman’s Bureau, progressive changes should be made quickly with consistent help from the Union for freedmen among the south.